DESERTION

desertion,n. The willful and unjustified abandonment of a person’s duties or obligations, esp.

to military service or to a spouse or family. • In family law, the five elements of spousal desertion

are (1) a cessation of cohabitation, (2) the lapse of a statutory period, (3) an intention to abandon,

(4) a lack of consent from the abandoned spouse, and (5) a lack of spousal misconduct that might

justify  the  abandonment.  —  Also termed  gross  neglect  of  duty.  Cf.  ABANDONMENT.  [Cases:

Armed Services    38; Divorce    37; Military Justice    661. C.J.S. Armed Services § 156; Divorce

§§ 20, 41; Military Justice § 55.] — desert,vb.

constructive  desertion.One  spouse’s  misconduct  that  forces  the  other  spouse  to  leave  the

marital abode. • The actions of the offending spouse must be serious enough that the spouse who

is forced from the home finds the continuation of the marriage to be unendurable or dangerous to

his or her safety and well-being, and finds it necessary to seek safety outside the marital domicile.

—  Also  termed  constructive  abandonment.  [Cases:  Divorce    37(22).  C.J.S.  Divorce  §§  41,  44,

78.]

criminal  desertion.One  spouse’s  willful  failure  without  just  cause  to  provide  for  the  care,

protection,  or  support  of  the  other  spouse  who  is  in  ill  health  or  needy  circumstances.  [Cases:

Husband and Wife    302, 304.]

obstinate  desertion.Desertion  by  a  spouse  who  persistently  refuses  to  return  to  the  marital

home, so that the  other spouse has  grounds for  divorce.  • Before the advent of  no-fault divorce,

this term  was  commonly  used  in  divorce  statutes.  The  term  was  often  part of  the  longer  phrase

willful, continued, and obstinate desertion. [Cases: Divorce    37(15). C.J.S. Divorce §§ 41, 78.]

willful, continued, and obstinate desertion.See obstinate desertion. [Blacks Law 8th]